Favorite Things Friday - Jocko
It's Friday, and I'm getting ready for a work day at work. Since I still do not have a dedicated space to do music therapy, I am taking all of the preparation and planning time that I am allotted all in one fell swoop each Friday. Today I will be working on my documentation, TME database, and my Monday-Thursday schedule. But, today is Friday, so it is time to talk about one of my favorite things...
I would like you to meet Jocko. Jocko has been a member of my family since the early 80's when my mom fell in love with one of his relatives at the Los Angeles County Fair. She decided to clone him and, voila, Jocko! He became a member of the family way back then, and he came to live with me about 15 years ago.
Jocko occasionally visits the music therapy room for sessions. My biggest problem with Jocko at work? He is a naughty monkey! Jocko always bites the fingers that are put into his mouth. He disagrees with MOST of the decisions that I make about what to do in the session. Jocko also loves to listen to really loud, fast, drum-intense music and bang his head. He answers yes and no questions, but won't really talk other than monkey sounds. He LOVES songs about monkeys and doesn't want them to end. He pouts when the songs are over. His attitude is just plain old bad...
Jocko seems to have a strange fascination with my clients, and they seem to mirror that fascination. Many of my students are initially startled when Jocko starts to interact with them. It takes those students some time to feel comfortable around Jocko, but others warm up to him immediately. Jocko's arms and legs are long enough to wrap around the body of the person that he is sitting with during the session. When Jocko comes to visit, he takes over the entire attention of the group in a way that encourages social interaction and engagement.
Why do I use Jocko in music therapy sessions? Well, for one reason, he spends time as the center of attention in the session. His personality is just too big to play second monkey to anyone else. He is an example of some of the not-so-horrible behaviors that annoy others. With Jocko, we process his behaviors and how they affect the people around him. Coincidentally, he is able to mimic behaviors of concern of the people who are surrounding him (Sarcasm here). If a client has a problem with interruption, then Jocko has a problem with interruption, and, believe me, Jocko gets MUCH more attention from fellow session members than the person who keeps interrupting us all the time. Jocko then becomes a way in which we can discuss how frustrating it is when someone interrupts us. We can also discuss why Jocko interrupts (and we do, over and over and over...).
Play items and props are very important for my clients. Many of them do not know how to play. I am often one of the only adults in their lives that does engage in play with them. Jocko helps me to illustrate the importance of play, imagination, and interaction with others. Jocko also assists my clients in expressing their frustrations and in recognizing that their behaviors cause frustration in others. Jocko also has a pretty expressive face (you wouldn't think it to look at his monkey face, would you?), so we can practice our emotion reading and interpretation. There seems to be no limit to what Jocko can do in our sessions together.
A while ago, Jocko burst one of his arm seams, so he has been in surgery recovery for the past year. He will, however, be moving to his new home once the music therapy room is completed - brand new arm seam and back to his cheeky ways.
Happy Friday, all!!
Jocko the Monkey Puppet
Jocko occasionally visits the music therapy room for sessions. My biggest problem with Jocko at work? He is a naughty monkey! Jocko always bites the fingers that are put into his mouth. He disagrees with MOST of the decisions that I make about what to do in the session. Jocko also loves to listen to really loud, fast, drum-intense music and bang his head. He answers yes and no questions, but won't really talk other than monkey sounds. He LOVES songs about monkeys and doesn't want them to end. He pouts when the songs are over. His attitude is just plain old bad...
Jocko seems to have a strange fascination with my clients, and they seem to mirror that fascination. Many of my students are initially startled when Jocko starts to interact with them. It takes those students some time to feel comfortable around Jocko, but others warm up to him immediately. Jocko's arms and legs are long enough to wrap around the body of the person that he is sitting with during the session. When Jocko comes to visit, he takes over the entire attention of the group in a way that encourages social interaction and engagement.
Why do I use Jocko in music therapy sessions? Well, for one reason, he spends time as the center of attention in the session. His personality is just too big to play second monkey to anyone else. He is an example of some of the not-so-horrible behaviors that annoy others. With Jocko, we process his behaviors and how they affect the people around him. Coincidentally, he is able to mimic behaviors of concern of the people who are surrounding him (Sarcasm here). If a client has a problem with interruption, then Jocko has a problem with interruption, and, believe me, Jocko gets MUCH more attention from fellow session members than the person who keeps interrupting us all the time. Jocko then becomes a way in which we can discuss how frustrating it is when someone interrupts us. We can also discuss why Jocko interrupts (and we do, over and over and over...).
Play items and props are very important for my clients. Many of them do not know how to play. I am often one of the only adults in their lives that does engage in play with them. Jocko helps me to illustrate the importance of play, imagination, and interaction with others. Jocko also assists my clients in expressing their frustrations and in recognizing that their behaviors cause frustration in others. Jocko also has a pretty expressive face (you wouldn't think it to look at his monkey face, would you?), so we can practice our emotion reading and interpretation. There seems to be no limit to what Jocko can do in our sessions together.
A while ago, Jocko burst one of his arm seams, so he has been in surgery recovery for the past year. He will, however, be moving to his new home once the music therapy room is completed - brand new arm seam and back to his cheeky ways.
Happy Friday, all!!
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